


Little Butterfly [Naruto/Reader]

by FireFlowerLilly



Category: Naruto
Genre: Better character development for Sakura, F/F, F/M, Haruno Sakura Deserves Better, Mentor Tsunade, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader Has Issues, Reader is a teaser but not a bully, Reader is a troll, Reader isn't OP, Reader-Insert, Slow Romance, Slow friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23219245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireFlowerLilly/pseuds/FireFlowerLilly
Summary: [Various!Naruto/Fem!Reader]Being a ninja wasn’t easy, you knew that. You’d always known that, thanks to your elder sister. You knew you could get hurt, or even die, maybe it could happen to your teammates or someone else you cared about. It was inevitable that you’d have to face the ugly truth of the shinobi world one day.But if you had to, you’d go to Hell and back to protect your friends.Even as the fragile and weak little butterfly you were.
Relationships: Gaara (Naruto)/Reader, Haruno Sakura/Reader, Hyuuga Hinata/Reader, Hyuuga Neji/Reader, Inuzuka Kiba/Reader, Kankurou (Naruto)/Reader, Nara Shikamaru/Reader, Rock Lee/Reader, Sai (Naruto)/Reader, Temari (Naruto)/Reader, Tenten (Naruto)/Reader, Uchiha Sasuke/Reader, Uzumaki Naruto/Reader, Various/Reader, Yamanaka Ino/Reader
Comments: 11
Kudos: 89





	1. Prologue: Insect Siblings

\--

You jumped from tree branch to tree branch, gaining more speed with each leap you took. A boy your age was watching your every movement, throwing a few  _ kunai _ , which you dodged with ease. With the speeds you whizzed about, also the movements your body made mid-air, you looked like a butterfly gracefully fluttering in the air.

“Sorry, brother dear, but you’re going to have to do better to catch me.” You teased, your butterfly wing pattern  _ haori _ moving gracefully with your petite body.

The boy you called brother, also known as Shino, stretched out his hand as many little insects rushed up the brak of the tree, trying to cling onto your body and sap some of your precious chakra.

“ _ Ara ara _ , you think you can catch up to me like this?” You cooed in the softest voice you could muster. “How cute.”

You took a deep breath and forced all your strength into your legs, leaping off the tree and onto the ground, Shino’s bugs following suit. More waves of bugs came after you, trying to cut you off at every corner. Key word: trying. With each time they tried lunging at you, you just jumped to the side or up into the air. The closest they ever got to you was nearly jumping onto your head and undoing your hair, which was held together in a bun by your butterfly-shaped hairpin.

Finally growing tired of this fruitless game of cat and mouse, you dashed towards Shino, getting a few good kicks into his stomach before landing on top of him, upon which he accepted his defeat and called his bugs off from another pointless attack.

“Too bad, Shino _ -chan _ . You got so close, too.” You teased, adding the “chan” part to embarrass him a bit more.

“I don’t even know why I hang out with you.” Shino said, his face red as you got off of him.

“Oh, walk it off.” You said. “It’s just one loss.”

“Yeah. One loss to add to the many others.” Shino reminded you. “Why do you even pick me to spar with. There are other kids in our class who could match up to you, so why pick on me all the time.”

“I mean, sure, I  _ could _ ask someone else to spar against. Like that Sasuke boy.” You said. “Yet you never say no to me, no matter how many times I ask or despite the fact that you know I’ll always beat you. Also, you think I wouldn’t notice you holding back today?”

“ _ Sigh _ . Serves me right for trying to be nice to you.” Shino said as you both left the little area in the woods where you trained. His previous attitude changed soon, though. “You are really strong, however. The Kocho family will be proud to hear that their next-in-line will be a capable fighter.”

There it was: the next-in-line talk. Oh, how you hated this topic. You wished that you could just sweep it under the rug and forget about it. But no matter who you talked to, it always came up eventually.

Your family, the Kocho family, was closely tied to the Aburame clan, it’s been that way for generations. You both focused a lot on insects and often worked with each other during times of need. The Aburame clan would protect your small family and your secrets, in exchange for your pharmaceutical services ranging from medicines and medical nin to poisons and other drugs.

Your family wasn’t considered their own clan due to its small size and dependance on the Aburame clan. But it was alright. You didn’t need to be a big and famous clan to be happy. Within the hidden Leaf village you were protected and were quite well known for your medical capabilities. There were often days when regular non-ninja folk came to your family’s pharmaceutical shop to buy ointments and cures for illnesses.

You may call Shino your brother, but that’s only as something that felt like an obligation. There was no blood relation between you at all. Although, since the Kocho have been so close to the Aburame for so long, there were no bout talks about one day having a member from each marry each other, uniting both families.

Again, the talk of succession in your family brought unhappy thoughts to your mind.

\--


	2. Team 7 Assemble

\--

You held a bouquet of flowers as you made your way through town. They were Sedum flowers, your older sister’s favourite flowers. You remembered she’d always place a vase full of them in her room and she’d always tend to them with utmost care. It only felt natural to bring her some.

You stood before a gravestone, one that you took great care of every day. You took out the old flowers in the vase and placed new ones in it, the ones you just bought. You made sure the grave was clean: no weeds, no rubbish or dead plants, always neatly raked, the gravestone clean from moss and dirt. It was the least you could do.

“I hope you can find happiness soon, sister. Father, mother and I miss you very much.” You said aloud. “I’m training hard every day, just like you did. I’ve gotten better, too, but I’m nowhere near as good as you. Your swordsmanship never ceases to amaze me.”

“A rather odd place to be smiling, don’t you think?” A new and unfamiliar voice called out from behind you, breaking your concentration.

When you turned around you were face with an older man. His hair was a shade of silvery white and pointer upwards. Most of his face was covered by a mask and his Konoha symbol headband. Only his right eye was visible. Judging from his attire he was a Jounin.

To be fair, his words weren’t wrong. You don’t expect to see someone smiling in a graveyard, especially when they’re visiting the grave of their passed loved one. But smiling has become something like second nature to you.

No matter what you were doing, who you were talking to, what the situation was, you always had a smile on your face. Not one of those big toothy ones, either. It was a small and more serene smile, but it never felt truly genuine. There were times when it came close to that, but often times it felt like you were using your smile as a distraction while you tried to bury some other thoughts and emotions deeper inside of you.

Well, they weren’t wrong.

“You’re the Kocho heiress, right?”

_ Again. Why does everyone bring this up? _ You cursed in your mind. You were pretty sure that the male noticed your slight annoyance, but if he did, he didn’t mention it.

You regained your composure. “Yes, I am.” You said, your smile ever present and your tone soft and polite.  _ Be a good girl, now, [Name]. _

“Although I must say, isn’t it considered rude to ask for someone’s identity without giving yours first?”

Your comment seemed to amuse the man. “You’ll find out soon enough.” That’s all he said before walking away, leaving you with no real answer.

\--

It was the day after graduation. You successfully passed the exam and were now a Genin. With the headband tied around your neck, you entered the classroom, sitting in your usual spot, next to Shino.

You didn’t bother looking for another seat. This has been your chosen seat for a long time now, since nobody - except for Shino - wanted to sit next to you. It’s not that you were hated or ugly, you were one of the prettiest girls in your class. It’s just that you were also the weird kid in school. It was your personality they didn’t understand. Rather, your change in personality.

Previously, you were known to be abrasive with a lot of your classmates with only a few exceptions. You often spoke rather rudely and almost always had a scowl on your face. But just a little over a year ago, your whole demeanor changed suddenly. You still teased some people, but it was light and never to the point of cruelty. Not to mention you started smiling all the time. It was rather spooky.

Nobody understood how or why this change happened. Some theorised that you got possessed by a ghost. Others said it was the change of hormones in your body as you neared puberty. Maybe it was because the teachers threatened to kick you out if you didn’t start behaving properly. Or maybe you were just lonely and desperately wanted some friends.

When you had decided to give up on trying to figure out who that strange man was, you heard the sound of the classroom door open. It was Naruto. That’s stange. You were sure he failed the exam. It seems like you weren’t the only one confused by the blond boy’s sudden appearance. When questioned about why he was here, Naruto simply pointed at his headband and proudly proclaimed that he was officially a ninja.

Then you saw two girls race inside the classroom. How couldn’t you notice them? They were arguing - rather loudly, might I add - about who entered the room first. Those two girls were Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno, both girls who were obsessed with Sasuke Uchiha, the most popular boy in the class. They weren’t the only ones thirsting after the raven-haired male, as every other girl in your class besides you and Hinata Hyuuga - who you’ve observed was crazily in love with Naruto - wanted a piece of Sasuke.

The argument between them ceased, fortunately for you, since you didn’t want to start the day off with being annoyed more than you already were and possibly yelling at the two girls to stop. Now if only there was something you could do to ease your mind and entertain you. It was too bad you couldn’t bring any of butterflies into class. You could at least watch them for a while. Oh well, guess you’d have to wait until after class today to spend some time in your family’s butterfly grove.

But it looked like Lady Luck was on your side today and you didn’t have to spend the entire day bored out of your mind. Naruto had jumped onto Sasuke’s desk and they had a short glare off before someone accidentally bumped Naruto forward, making their lips lock.

_ Don’t laugh. You mustn’t laugh. _ You said to yourself, even as a small bit of air left from between your lips, making a ‘pfft’ noise. “Excuse me.” You apologised for your unladylike actions. Oh, you were never going to let those two live this down. Perfect teasing material.

\--

It was time for the teams to be announced. You sat quietly in your seat, waiting patiently for your name to be called by your teacher. Iruka-sensei mentioned that this year there were more graduates than normal, so one team was going to have an extra member. You wondered how you were going to be paired up with. Hopefully someone strong.

“Team 7: Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and [Name] Kocho.” So that’s who your teammates were.

“Aww. Too bad, Shino, you don’t get to see my awesome skills.” You pretended to be hurt.

“Well, at least you have someone else to tease other than me.”

To be honest, you weren’t that impressed by those people you were teamed up with. Sakura seemed to only care about Sasuke, as she demonstrated before, and didn’t seem to be all that strong. Naruto was known as the class clown and a general troublemaker. And Sasuke was strong, but he was also kind of a loner jerk.

\--

The four of you were still in the classroom, waiting for your new squad leader to show up. All of the other teams had already left long ago, so what was taking your teacher so long? Your annoyance grew more and more with each passing minute and you silently debated going out and fining them.

Naruto was also tired of waiting and sneakily put a chalkboard eraser between the sliding door. Although childish, you wanted to see the prank succeed. “That’s what he gets for being late.”

“I’m not involved.” Sakura said, trying to look like she didn’t want to see what happened.

“Come now, Sakura- _ chan _ .” You chimed in. “You know you love these kinds of things.”

Sakura turned to you, her face red with embarrassment. “What, can you read minds or something?”

“No.” You replied bluntly. “But it’s not like I need to, it’s written all over your face.”

_ She’s making me look like a fool in front of Sasuke-kun. _ The pink-haired girl whined in her mind.  _ I bet she’s only doing this to make herself look better. Yeah. She’s trying to take him away from me! She thinks she can have him just because she’s a little bit cute? I’ll CRUSH her! _

“Like a Jounin would fall for such a stupid booby trap.” Sasuke scoffed.

Just then the door opened and the eraser fell directly onto your new teacher’s head. You suppressed another laugh, trying even harder when you noticed that he was the same man you met at your sister’s grave. Looks like you indirectly got your revenge on him, petty as it might be.

While Naruto laughed his butt off, Sakura tried telling your new  _ sensei _ that she tried to stop the blond kid. You debated pointing out that she probably enjoyed how it turned out, but you decided she has been teased enough. For now, at least. And you didn’t have to spend much time guessing what Sasuke was thinking of. He was most likely thinking that this guy couldn’t possibly be an actual Jounin.

“Hmm… How can I say this… My first impression is...” Your teacher paused, as if in thought. “I don’t like you guys.”

\--

On the roof of the school your team were holding your first meeting. While you, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke sat on the stairs, your  _ sensei  _ was sitting rater comfortably on the railing. Was he really so sure he catch himself from falling? “Well, let’s begin with introducing yourselves.”

“What do you want to know?”

“How about your likes, dislikes your dreams for the future and things like that.”

“Why don’t you introduce yourself to us first?” You asked. This time you were going to get a real answer and nothing was going to stop you from getting it.

“Yeah, you look kind of suspicious.” Sakura agreed with you.

“Oh, me? Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future… Hmm… And I have lots of hobbies.”

That bastard! All he really told you was his name. If you didn’t know any better, you’d call him an even bigger tease than you. Even your other teammates were annoyed with his ‘answer’.

“Now it’s your turn. Let’s start on the right.”

“Yo! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I love instant ramen in a cup, I love it even more when Iruka- _ sensei _ pays for my ramen. What I dislike is the 3 minutes for the ramen to cook...”

_ Does he only think about ramen? _

“And my dream is to surpass the  _ Hokage _ and then have the people of this village acknowledge my existence!”

Kakashi looked at the young boy, thinking to himself that he had grown up in a rather interesting way. “Hobbies… Pranks, I guess.”

I see. “ Next. What about you, butterfly  _ haori _ ?”

You turned your attention away from the blond boy, hearing your  _ sensei _ mention you. “I am [Name] Kocho. I like my family and training and dislike cruel people. My dream is to become the best swordswoman among all ninja and make lots of friends. My hobbies include training and reading.”

_ Curious that she didn’t mention anything about getting revenge on the people who killed her sister. Then again, she is known for being sneaky and secretive. Better keep an eye on her. _ “Next.”

“My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are lots of things I dislike. I don’t particularly like anything. And I can’t really call it a dream… but I have an ambition: the resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain man.”

_ I see... _

Silence followed with all of you thinking different things about Sasuke’s words.

“Jeez. Bring the whole mood down, why don’t ya?” You said.

“I’m not the one who plays around with butterflies all day and whose dream is to make friends.”

“ _ Ara ara _ . Are you trying to start a fight with me, Sasuke- _ san _ ?” You asked. “This is why people don’t like you, you know ~ ?” You noticed Sasuke freeze up just a bit, it was barely noticeable, really. Yet despite the small reaction to your comment, you still counted this as a win for you. Sakura was about to start fuming at the sight of you making fun of her precious ‘Sasuke- _ kun _ ’, but was stopped when Kakashi asked her to move onto her own introduction.

“I’m Sakura Haruno. The thing I like is… Well the person I like is… And uhm… My dream for the future… Uhm… Oh yeah...” You watched Sakura stumble over her words, despite how obvious what she was trying to say was. “What I dislike is Naruto and [Name]! My hobby is...”

_ Seems like some girls this age are more interested in romance than ninjutsu. _ Kakashi watched the scene play out. “OK! So far for the introductions. Tomorrow we’ll start our duties as  _ shinobi _ .” Kakashi explained. “First we are going to do something with just the five of us.”

“What is it? What is it?” Naruto asked, his excitement at the prospect of doing some ninja stuff was obvious. But you weren’t going to lie, you felt a tinge of giddiness in your chest as well.

“Survival training.” When sakura questioned why training - since you already got lots of training in the academy - Kakashi said that this training was different. “This isn’t normal training. This time I’m your opponent.” He paused of a bit before he began chuckling to himself.

“What’s so funny,  _ sensei _ ?” Sakura asked as you all watched in confusion as your teacher laughed.

“Uhm… Well… It’s just that when I tell you this you guys are totally going to freak out.”

“Freak out? Huh?” Naruto repeated, not understanding why this info would cause such a reaction.

“Of the 28 graduates, only 10 will be chosen to become Genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy.” Kakashi explained. “This training is a very difficult exam. It has a fail rate of over 64%!”

This news was not pleasing to hear, even you didn’t smile for once.

“Hahaha. I told you you’d freak out.”

“WHAT! NO WAY!” Naruto barked. “But we worked so hard! But then what was the point of graduating?!”

“Oh that? That was just to select those who have the chance to become Genin.”

“WHAT?!”

“Anyway, tomorrow you have to show your skills on the training ground. Bring all the  _ shinobi _ tools you have. Oh. And skip breakfast, you might throw up.” Kakashi explained before handing each of you a piece of paper. “The details are on this paper. And don’t be late tomorrow.”

As each one of you read over the information, you all thought the same thing for various reasons: you could not fail.

For the rest of the day you spent all of your time training and practicing your sword skills.

\--

You arrived on the training grounds at 5 AM, just like you were told to. You were hungry, but you listened to what your sensei ordered you to do, and skipped breakfast. Your sword was in its hilt, attached to your waist and you carried a bag full of  _ kunai _ ,  _ shuriken _ and other things you could find. You were prepared for this test.

You and your teammates waited for your teacher to show up.

You waited.

And waited.

And waited.

You were seriously annoyed right now. He told you not to be late and then he lets you wait for hours?! What kind of teacher wa he?

“Hey guys, good morning!”

“YOU’RE LATE!” Both Naruto and Sakura yelled at the same time.

“A black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long route.”

Your respect for your sensei was dwindling fast. Maybe you should ask to be put in Shino’s team, after all.

\--

Kakashi placed a clock on one of the wooden sumps. “OK, it’s set for noon.” He then pulled out three bells from his pocket. “Your task is to take these from me before the time’s up. Those who don’t have a bell by noon get no lunch. I’ll not only tie you to one of those stumps. but I’ll also eat right in front of you.”

So that’s why he told you to skip breakfast.

“You only have to get one bell. There are only three, so one of you will definitely be tied to the stump. And the person who doesn’t take a bell fails, so at least one of you will be sent back to the academy.” Kakashi explained. “If you want, you can use  _ shuriken _ and  _ kunai _ . You won’t succeed unless you come at me intending to kill.”

“But! You’ll be in danger!” Sakura pointed out. And she wasn’t wrong. Those tools were real weapons and could easily kill someone. There was a reason the use of them was heavily regulated and supervised at the academy.

“Yeah. You’re so slow you can’t even dodge a chalkboard eraser!” Naruto laughed. “We’ll definitely kill you!”

Kakashi, however, was not amused by the chuckling child’s comment. “In the real world, those who lack talent often bark the loudest. Ignore Mr. Dead last and start when I say-”

Naruto, angered at your  _ sensei _ ’s remark of him being dead last, grabbed a  _ kunai _ from his leg pouch and was about to throw it at Kakashi. Before he could let go of it, Kakashi had already appeared behind him and grabbed a hold of the boy’s hand, pointing the kunai towards the back of Naruto’s neck.

“Calm down.” He reprimanded the child. “I haven’t said start yet.”

That speed was all the proof you needed. He really was a skilled Jounin.

“Well, it seems you’re finally ready to come at me with the intent to kill. So you finally acknowledged me? It seems like I’m starting to like you guys.” Kakashi said as he looked at all of your determined faces. “OK, let’s get going… Ready...”

“START!”

With that final word, you all ran off, each going to find a suitable place to hide and think of a strategy.

\--


	3. Kakashi's Conclusion

\--

You hid among the trees, your dominant hand on the handle of your sword, ready to unstealth it at any second. There was no doubt that your teacher was skilled, so you’d have to come up with a good strategy to snatch one of those bells from him. Now the question was how to get close to him. Sure, you pride yourself on your impeccable speed, but that didn’t mean you were unbeatable, far from it. This man was a Jounin, an elite compared to you, and he certainly could figure out any weak spots you had and take you down in no time.

Maybe if you had a distraction, you could have his attention somewhere else while you got close and grabbed one of those bells. Yeah, that could work. As for the distraction, perhaps a clone or two would work.

You didn’t need to create some, however, when you noticed that Naruto was still on the open field, staring Kakashi down. Why didn’t he hide like you, Sakura or Sasuke? He has to know that staying in the open was just asking to get attacked during a battle. He was either a born idiot or a clueless rookie. Then again, even rookies knew that this was a poor plan.

Then again, if this worked out, you could use him as a distraction. If - and that was a very big if - it worked, you should grab him a bell as well, as thanks for helping you, even if it wasn’t intentional.

“Come and fight me!” Naruto yelled at Kakashi.

_ Wait. _ You thought to yourself.  _ Is he still angry at being called ‘Mr. Dead last’ earlier? That’s why he wants to face sensei alone? How stupid can you get? _

“I said fight me!”

“Umm… You’re a little bit off.”

“The only bit off is your hair cut!” Naruto yelled, running towards his teacher.

Kakashi dug around in one of his pockets for something, his actions making Naruto stop in his tracks and back up a bit. “Ninja Fighting esson #1  _ Taijutsu _ . I’ll teach you about it.”

_ Taijutsu _ is hand to hand combat, yet he is searching his pocket for something. Was he going to use a weapon?

What Kakashi pulled out wasn’t a weapon; it was a book. The title read “Make out Paradise”. While you had never read the book, nor did you have any interest in it, you have seen it in the adult section of the bookstore you frequinted with your older sister.

“What’s wrong? Hurry up and come at me.” Kakashi asked, seeing that naruto had stopped his attempted attack.

“But… Hey, hey?! Why do you have a book?”

“Why? Well, because I want to read what happens next.” Kakashi said in a rather nonchalant voice. “Don’t worry about it. It won’t make a difference against you guys.”

Angered by his teacher’s comment, Naruto threatened to beat him to a pulp and went on the offensive again. But all of his punches and kicks were either blocked or dodged with ease. It was only when Naruto realised that Kakashi wasn’t in front of him when he stopped.

“A ninja isn’t supposed to get caught from behind, idiot.”

_ That hand sign.  _ You thought to yourself, watching as Kakashi crouched behind Naruto.  _ That’s the Seal of the Tiger. Don’t tell me he’s going to use a Fire Jutsu against Naruto? _

“Naruto, get out of there! You’re going to get killed!” You saw Sakura shout out from her hiding spot in the bushes. Well, if there was one perc to hiding high up in the trees, you could see quite far and possibly locate Sasuke too.

Naruto, startled by Sakura’s loud voice, tried to escape from his current spot, but it was already too late.

“Hidden Leaf Ancient  _ Taijutsu _ Supreme Technique: A 1,000 Years of Pain!” With that shout, Kakashi drove his fingers right up Naruto’s butt, sending the boy flying into the nearby river.

You stared in bewilderment. He really pulled that move? That’s something little kids do.  _ So it wasn’t a Fire Jutsu, after all. _

From the water shot out two shuriken, which Kakashi caught with his fingers like it was the easiest thing in the world, still reading his book.

“Hey, what’s wrong? If you don’t get a bell by noon, you won’t get lunch.” Kakashi said to Naruto, who had climbed out of the river, soaking wet.

“I know that!”

“You sure are weak for someone who’s going to surpass the hokage.”

“I can still fight on an empty stomach!”

_ Oh, God, don’t remind me.  _ You thought to yourself, hearing the soft grumble coming from your body.

That’s when 8 clones of Naruto jumped out of the water. It was rather unexpected, considering you remembered that Naruto failed to create even one functional clone back at the Academy. But those were real, perfect, solid clones of himself, not just illusions. You were really impressed.

“Hah! My speciality, Shadow Clone  _ Jutsu _ !” Naruto yelled out. “You better not get careless, there’s more than one of me now!”

“With your ability, about a minute is probably your limit with this. No matter how many you line up, you’re still Naruto. You can’t beat me with that  _ Jutsu _ .” Kakashi’s calm demeanor didn’t last long, when he was suddenly grabbed from behind by Naruto. “What?! Behind me?”

“Weren’t ninjas not suppose to get caught from behind? Right Kakashi- _ Sensei _ ?” Naruto spoke as one of the clones jumped into the air, ready to give his teacher a good punch in the face More of the clones grabbed a hold of Kakashi’s legs, making sure he wouldn’t run away. “Using the Shadow Clone Jutsu I sent a clone out of the water to sneak up behind you. My ass is still hurting! Here comes the revenge!”

The punch connected, with the sound reverberating across the training ground.

But then you noticed that it wasn’t Kakashi who got punched, but one of the Naruto clones. The situation erupted into chaos. Each of the Naruto clones accused each other of being Kakashi- _ Sensei _ in disguise, to the point where they started fighting. It was only until one of the clones suggested Naruto should release the  _ Jutsu _ to find Kakashi did the fighting stop.

The clone Jutsu was released, leaving only the real Naruto, covered in bumps and bruises.

_ So it was a Substitution Jutsu, after all. _ You thought to yourself, your theory now confirmed.

Naruto got caught in another trap, hanging from a tree this time, leaving you with the perfect opportunity to attack. You pulled your sword from its scabbard. “Butterfly Dance: Caprice” You said as you jumped into the air from your tree branch, that served as your hiding spot. Kakashi noticed you flying down from overhead and prepared to get out of the way from your sword thrust.

But he didn’t need to.

A bunch of _ kunai _ were thrown at Kakashi, but now you were going to get hit instead, if you didn’t do anything about it. You pulled your sword away from its previous position, using it to block the Ninja tools that were heading your way at great speed. You’d lost your chance to get one of those bells.

“ _ Ara ara _ . So you really are trying to start a fight with me, huh, Sasuke- _ san _ ?” You asked, having landed safely on the ground.

“I’m not trying to start anything! You’re the one who got in my way!” The male’s voice came from the trees.

“Nevermind him.” Kakashi said, staring you down. “I’m your opponent now.”

You’d sure found yourself in quite the pickle. Not only had you lost the element of surprise and didn’t get a bell, but now your cover had been blown. You knew you couldn’t beat Kakashi at  _ Taijutsu _ \- it has always been your weakest subject - so you’d have to figure out a new strategy.

“That’s a rather interesting sword you’ve got there.”

He wasn’t wrong. Your sword was unlike any other you’ve ever seen. From the hilt and handle, it looked just like any other regular  _ katana _ , but below it was a completely different story. Most of the blade had been removed, having been replaced with a rod, and only the needle-like tip of the blade remained, resembling an insect’s stinger in both appearance and function. This sword wasn’t made to slash or cut - like most swords - but instead for thrusting. It was made this way to take advantage of your fighting style.

“Thank you. I take great pride in using it.” You said. “Don’t worry about dying. I’m not using poison today.”

Your style of sword fighting came to be when you realised that your arms were too small and weak to deal any significant slicing damage. So, instead, you focused all of your attention on stabbing and thrusting. That alone would not be enough to take down an enemy, so you had the sword heavily modified, so that when the blade enters someone’s body, it would inject poison, which was mixed and loaded into the rod by the sword sheath.

“You sure are confident that you’ll be able to hit me. I’ve heard that you were considered one of the best students at the Academy.” Kakashi pointed out. “Let’s see if your bite is as vicious as your bark.”

_ All joking aside, he is clearly stronger than me in every way, so I cannot be reckless. I can’t let him hit me or else I might go down easily. _ You thought in your head, thinking of a new strategy.  _ I’ll have to use my speed to my advantage. Guess being shorter than some of the kids in my class has its perks. _

“Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag.” With the words you muttered under your breath, you broke into a sprint, running in a zigzag pattern. Hopefully, this would confuse your opponent long enough for you to get close. Now that you were close enough, you suddenly changed your plans. “Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter!”

You fastened your pace even more, using the momentum of your speed to strengthen the single blow you were about to deliver. You ran the tip of the blade into Kakashi’s stomach.

“Aah! No way! [Name] you went too far!” Naruto yelled out, seeing his _ Sensei _ get stabbed.

That’s when Kakashi turned into a cloud of smoke, leaving only a wooden log in its place, your sword stuck in it.

_ A substitution again? That’s why he let his guard down.  _ You thought to yourself. It was strange that he didn’t even attempt to stop you. It was time to get out of here. You made a mad dash into the woods, hoping to lose him, all the while cursing yourself for falling for such an obvious trap.

“HEY! LET ME DOWN FROM HERE FIRST!” You heard Naruto yell out.

_ Sorry, Naruto, but you’re on your own right now. I can’t afford to fail this test. _

\--

You heard a scream.  _ That sounded like Sakura. Did she get caught by Sensei? _

You pick up the speed, using all of the strength in your legs to launch yourself from tree to tree, hoping to reach her as fast as you could.

You found your female teammate on the ground, passed out. Considering her shocked expression, and the fact that no one was around, you guessed she got tricked by a  _ Genjutsu _ .

You landed softly on your toes and bent down to look at her in the face. “ _ Moshi moshi _ . Are you alright?” You said, seeing her begin to open her eyes.

Sakura jumped to her feet. “Wha- what happened? Where’s Sasuke?”

“I don’t know. But it seems like you got caught in a  _ Genjutsu _ -”

“I gotta save Sasuke! He was wounded and bleeding. Don’t tell me he died!”

“Well, I don’t know about him-”

“Your family specialises in medicines, right? Can’t you give me some so I can heal him up?”

“Look, I’d be happy to help anyone in need of medical attention, but I can tell you that whatever you saw wasn’t real. You got tricked by a  _ Genjutsu _ , a hallucination.”

“But maybe he’s facing Sensei right now and he needs my help.” Sakura ran off, leaving you alone.

That girl sure was boycrazy.

\--

You dashed through the woods. Time was almost up and you haven’t even come close to getting a bell. You were running out of patience.

Then you spotted something rather amusing.

Sakura was on the ground, once again, but this time she didn’t faint due to a  _ Genjutsu _ , but because Sasuke was in the ground, with only his head sticking out.

You couldn’t help but giggle a little, watching the scene.

“Stop snickering and get me out.” Sasuke told you, his voice becoming more hushed when he realised he was asking for your help.

You decided this was the perfect time for some teasing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that last part. What was it?”

He mumbled, his cheeks getting red from embarrassment.

“Sorry, a little louder please.”

“I need your help...”

“Apologies, still can’t make it out.”

“You heard me.”

“Alright, alright, I kid.” You said, stepping closer. You stabbed one of your  _ kunai _ into the dirt surrounding Sasuke and began digging  **(A.N Yes,** **_kunai_ ** **and many other items used by real ninja were more than weapons and** **_kunai_ ** **were often used as digging tools)** . In just about a minute, he was free to move his limbs and pulled himself out.

“Has the little baby learned his lesson~?”

Sasuke glared at you. “I’m going.”

“To do what? You just got your butt handed to you on a silver platter.”

“I touched one of those bells, so I still did better than you.”

“Well, if you’re going, then I am too. Just try to keep up, OK~?” You said, getting ready to dash ahead of him. But as soon as you lifted your leg, Sasuke grabbed a hold of it and pulled you into a headlock.

“ _ Ara ara _ . What’s this, Sasuke?” You asked. “Are you upset with me for teasing you earlier? Or are you trying to keep me from reaching Kakashi- _ sensei _ first because you know you can’t beat my speed?”

Silence.

“Is this because I pointed out that no one likes you?”

You couldn’t see his face, but you could feel him tense up. You knew you couldn’t break out of his iron grip with your own strength, so you’d have to make him let you go. The small blade hidden in the back of your shoe came out, with you raising your leg up to his face, so the blade nearly cut him. You were trying to threaten Sasuke into loosening his grip just enough for you to get out of it.

Then Sakura woke up and saw the awkward position you and Sasuke were in.

“I’m going.” Sasuke said, giving up on trying to choke you.

Sakura tried to reason with Sasuke, asking if maybe it was alright to fail this year and try again the next. That option was utter nonsense to Sasuke. Something that you agreed on, for once. You simply couldn’t just give up.

Then he reminded you of his drea - or rather - his goal: killing a certain someone.

You didn’t want to say it out loud, but you identified with him just a little. Perhaps you two weren’t so different after all.

That’s when you heard the sound of a clock ringing.

Time was up.

\--

10 minutes later, all of you had gathered in the same spot as this morning. Naruto was tied to the stump, because, apparently, he tried to sneak off and eat the packed lunches Kakashi had prepared.

“You guys look really hungry.” Kakashi said, looking at the four of you. “By the way, something about the training… Well, there’s no need for you guys to go back to the Academy.”

While Naruto and Sakura seemed to take this news as something positive, you didn’t. Something in your gut told you your  _ Sensei _ was about to tell you some bad news, it’s what you’d do, and as far as you’ve seen, he was an even bigger teaser than you.

“Yup, all four of you should quit as  _ ninjas _ !”

You knew it.

“Quit as Ninjas?! What does that mean?!” Naruto yelled out, as if he had been presented with he didn’t even understand, like it was utter nonsense to him. “OK! OK! We couldn’t get the bells but… Why do we have to quit?!”

“Because all of you are punks who don’t deserve to be  _ ninjas _ .”

Kakashi’s words were enough to make Sasuke so angry that he got on his feet and dashed towards his teacher, only to be pushed to the ground seconds later.

“That’s why you’re a punk.”

“NO! Don’t step on Sasuke- _ kun _ !” Yelled Sakura, as if Sasuke was about to be squished like a bug.

“Are you underestimating  _ ninjas _ ? Huh?” Kakashi got your attention. “Why do you think you were divided into teams and are doing this training?”

“Huh? What does that mean?” Sakura asked, confusion written on her face.

“Basically...” Kakashi said, driving his foot deeper into Sasuke’s head, as if to emphasise his words and drill them into his mind. “You guys are not understanding the answer to this test.”

“Answer?”

“Yes. The answer that helps you pass this test.”

“So… When are you going to tell us?”

Silence.

“Ahh! Damn it!” Naruto yelled out. “What’s the answer?”

“It’s teamwork.” Kakashi said. “The four of you working together may have gotten you the bells.”

“What do you mean by teamwork? There are only three bells!” Sakura pointed out. “Even if we work together and get the bells, one of us would still fail. What teamwork? That just makes us fight each other.”

“Of course! This test is purposefully set up to make you fight amongst yourselves.”

“Huh?!”

“The purpose is to see whether you can forget about your own interests and successfully work together under these designed circumstances. Yet… You guys...” Kakashi pointed out. “Sakura, instead of Naruto or [Name], who were right next to you, you were only thinking about Sasuke, who was far away. Naruto! You were just running around by yourself. Sasuke! You just assumed the others would get in your way and tried to do everything yourself. [Name], you were the closest who came to understanding what this test was about, but you never truly realised it. You helped Sakura and Sasuke out, but you were still selfish and overconfident in your own skills and tried to go at it alone.”

You felt a little ashamed now that you fully understood the test.

“The duties are done by the team. Of course superior individual ability is important for a  _ ninja _ . But what’s more important is teamwork.” Kakashi dug around in his pocket for something. “Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger. For example...” He pulled out a  _ kunai  _ and aimed it towards Sasuke’s neck. “Sakura and [Name]! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies!”

“What?!”

“You see?” Kakashi said as he finally got of Sasuke, putting the weapon back into his pocket.. “If a hostage is taken, you will have tough decisions and then die. You will be risking your lives in these duties.”

Kakashi walked closer to a memorial stone, one that you were all too familiar with. “Look at this. The numerous names carved on this stone. These  _ ninjas _ are recognized as heroes of the village.”

“Hey!” Naruto suddenly perked up. “I’ve decided to get my name engraved on that stone too! Hero! That’s what I’ll become!”

“No, Naruto.” You spoke up, your voice a lot sadder than usual. “You don’t understand. They aren’t just normal heroes.”

“Oh, yeah? Then what kind are they?”

“They are all heroes who died while on duty.” Kakashi explained. The mood turned bleak. “This is a memorial. My best friend’s name is also carved here. And just ask the Kocho girl, her older sister’s name is carved in here too. Right there: Kanae Kocho.”

Silence.

“You guys… I’ll give you one more chance.” Kakashi said, finally turning towards you. “But after lunch I’ll make it even tougher to get the bells. Those who still wish to challenge can eat lunch. But don’t give any to Naruto. It’s punishment for trying to eat by yourself. If anyone gives him food, they will fail immediately. I’m the rules here! Got it?”

With that, he left.

It pained to watch Naruto starve while eating, yourself. Naruto may say that he’s fine and he doesn’t need food, but you knew better. You lifted your chopsticks filled with rice up to his face.

“[Name], what are you doing?  _ Sensei  _ is going to fail you!” Sakura said.

“I’m not going to let a teammate starve. He won’t be as useful with on an empty stomach.” You said. “I don’t sense Sensei nearby. And despite the image you all have of me - although I am a teaser - I am not heartless.”

Naruto started tearing up from the kind act and took the rice into his mouth, practically crying from finally getting to eat. Soon Sasuke and Sakura all offered him some of their food too.

“YOU GUYS!”

Oh no. It was Kakashi, which means he saw you breaking the rules and was about to fail all of you.

“You pass~.”

You stared at the man in confusion.

“You guys are the first. Everyone else would do as I told them. they were all just morons.” You remembered Kakashi was rather infamous because no one has ever passed his test before. Was this also a part of the test? “A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rules and codes of the  _ ninja _ world are trash… But you know what? Those who don’t take care of their comrades are worse than trash.”

Those words actually touched you on a deeper level. He wasn’t just saying them for the sake of saying them, it felt like he really leaned the meaning of those words and had made them a part of his philosophy.

“That ends the training. All of you pass!” Kakashi gave you all a big thumbs up. “OK! Starting tomorrow Team 7 will begin its duties!”

You all packed up your things and left, despite Naruto’s screaming to untie him.

\--

That evening, you came to your sister’s grave to tell her the good news. Along with a bouquet of her favourite flowers.

\--

**Author's Note:**

> A.N So... I finally caved. After years of me thinking I was never going to do this, I’m here. I made a Naruto fanfic. It seems almost inevitable, like it’s every anime fanfic writer’s destiny to one day write a Naruto fic.
> 
> At this point I’m just waiting for people to start singing “butterfly” by Smile in the comments.
> 
> Also, if you know anything about me, don’t expect frequent updates. The only reason I published this today instead of like 8 months later was because I was bored and I’m stuck at home due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
> 
> And yes, the reader character was inspired by Shinobu Kocho from Demon Slayer.


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